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Morris Dees: Whose America?

Morris Dees, founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, spoke at Augustana College on March 31, 2011. He was the featured speaker for the college's second White Privilege Summit

In 1994, Morris Dees warned the U.S. attorney general that radical militias were planning domestic terrorist strikes. Six months later, the Oklahoma City Bombing was tied to one such group.

As founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Dees uses the law in his battle against prejudice and hatred. In the 1980s and 90s, he worked against the KKK and neo-Nazi groups with a series of historic lawsuits. Today, Dees focuses his attention on anti-government militias. In his expose, Gathering Storm: America's Militia Threat, Dees explains the dangers these groups represent. He is also author of A Lawyer's Journey, an autobiography, and Hate on Trial: The Case Against America's Most Dangerous Neo-Nazi. Dees also was the The subject of the television movie Line of Fire and portrayed in the feature film Ghosts of the Mississippi.

His appearance was sponsored by the Office of Student Activities in conjunction with the White Privilege Summit.